Method and apparatus for forming mineral wool



July 11, 1961 HQLCOMB 2,991,499

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING MINERAL WOOL Filed Dec. 29, 1955 INVETOR. N N ffr/aey 4-? {ta/n6. Q BY ATTORNEY.

1' METHOD AND 2,991,499- APPARATUS FOR FORMING MINERAL WOOL I Harry EdieHolcomb, Stratford, Conn., assignor to Johns- Manville Corporation, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation I of New York Filed Dec. 29, 1955, Ser. No.556,113 Claims. (CI. 18-2.6)

The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming and collectingfibrous material and more particularly concerns a device for separatingmineral wool fiber from shot during initial collection of the fiber. v.

In theme'thod of producing mineral wool generally known as spinning,fibers are formed by discharging a stream ofv molten material ontoaflplurality of rotorsfrom which the material is thrown in. the fOIm'Offibers. With such devices a substantial quantity of unfiberized materialis thrown from the surfaces of the rotors in the form of shot and aparticularly difficult problem in the spinning art has been to separatethis shot from the fiber.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a mineral woolspinning apparatus wherein a maximum separation of shot from fiber isattained, without unnecessarily reducing the length of the fibers.

A secondary object of the present invention is to provide a mineral woolspinning apparatus wherein fibrous material is moved away from therotors in such manner that a minimum amount of fiber is carried backinto the path of rotors or the molten stream.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects andadvantages thereof will become more apparent when reference is made tothe following detailed description and to the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a view, primarily in section, of the apparatus of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the fiberizing section of the apparatus as seen fromthe plane 2-2 of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 3 is a section of a portion of the apparatus, taken on the line 3-3of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a cupola 2 of conventionalconstruction suspended by a means not shown and having associatedtherewith a trough 4 for feeding molten material through a rear wall 6of a collection chamber, generally designated by the numeral 8.Positioned beneath the trough 4 and aligned therewith is a fiberizingunit 10 which may consist of two or more rotors 11, as desired. Detailsof rotary fiberizing units of the type with which the present inventionis concerned are shown in U.S. patents to Powell, Nos. 2,428,810;2,520,168 and 2,520,169.

The chamber 8 is generally rectangular in horizontal cross section andis open at the top. In the forward wall 12 thereof at a positionconsiderably below the location of the fiberizing unit 10, there isprovided a relatively large opening adjacent which is positioned a fibercollecting means 30 later to be described. Cooperating with the fibercollecting means 30 is a seal roll 14 supporting one end of a pivotedextension 16 of the upper portion of wall 12, the seal roll beingmounted on walls 13 extending outwardly from wall 12 at each side ofextension 16. In the rear chamber wall 6 there is provided an opening 18in which is pivotally mounted a plurality of parallel louvres 20, theangle of which, relative to the wall 6, may be adjusted by mechanism 22.The arrangement of louvres 20 is such that a controlled amount of airmay be admitted to the chamber 8 from the rear wall thereof at alocation opposite the upper portion of the opening in the forward wall12.

Positioned between the openings in the walls 6 and 12 and the fiberizingunit 10 are binder application nozzles 24. Located at the bottom ofchamber 8 which, it will tional means.

be noted, extends a substantial'distance below the opening inthe forwardwall 12, is a conventional screw'feed device 26 submerged in a waterfilled tank 28 and so arranged as to permit automatic removal of shotfrom chamber 8, without admitting additional air to the chamber. .5

The fiber collecting means 30 consists of a rotatable foraminous drum 32mounted for rotation on any conven- Within the drum there is provided afixed segment 34 sealed from the atmosphere and communicating with asuction pipe 36. Extending over the drum 32 and a drive roll 38 is aforaminous conveyor belt 40 adapted to move in the direction of thearrows At the dischargeendiof conveyor belt 40 there" is positioned asecond conveyor 42- for delivering fibrous materials to .ariovenapparatus, schematically illustrated at 44.

In operation, molten fiber forming material is fed from trough 4 in astream onto the peripheral surface of one of the rotors 11 of fiberizingunit 10. As may be seen in FIG. 2 fiber formed on the rotors of the unittends to form rings of material around the rotors and, unless removedfrom the vicinity of the rotors, would obviously :be carried into thepath of adjacent rotors or into the path of the stream of moltenmaterial. However, by reason of suction applied to the tube 36 ofcollecting means 30, air is caused to flow into the chamber through theopening in the top thereof and downwardly across the rotors, asillustrated by the arrows in FIG. 2. The suction in collecting means 30is so adjusted that the fiber, when moved to positions laterally of therotor unit, is immediately carried fairly rapidly downwardly away fromthe vicinity of the rotors, and thus no fiber, or substantially nofiber, is carried back into adjacent rotors or into the stream of moltenmaterial.

The louvres 22 are adjusted so that a substantial amount of air is drawnthrough opening 18 toward the collecting means 30 and thus transverselyof the initial downward path of the fibrous material and shot. Theadjustment of louvres 20 must be such that all fibrous material, orsubstantially all fibrous material, is urged laterally of the downwardpath and is hence separated from the shot, which is of such relativemass that it is unaffected by the air currents. The fiber iscontinuously collected on conveyor belt 40 which, in cooperation withroll 14 and pivoted plate 16, serve to seal the opening of wall 12 ofthe chamber. The fibrous material collected on conveyor belt 40 isconveyed to belt 42 and oven 44 for curing in the conventional manner.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an apparatus whereinfibrous material may be gently separated from shot and that theapparatus also provides an arrangement wherein a minimum amount of thefiber formed is carried back into the rotors or into the molten stream.The advantageous results which flow from the characteristics justdescribed are that control of the molten stream of material fed to therotors is made much easier and, consequently, feed of the moltenmaterial and, hence, fiberization, is much more uniform. Also, muchlonger fiber may be produced by the apparatus of this invention sincethere is a minimum amount of chopping of the fiber by the rotors andbreakage of the fiber in separating of shot therefrom.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will beunderstood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and thatvarious changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilledin the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined bythe subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A method of forming mineral wool comprising feeding a stream ofmolten raw material to a rotary fiberizing means, establishing anairstream moving downwardly Patented July ll, 1961 v over saidfiberim'ng means to form a suspension of fiber moving downwardly awayfrom said rotary fiberizer, defleeting said suspension of fiber from thepath of unfiberized material formed by said rotary fiberizer, andcollecting fiber from the thus deflected suspension.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a second airstream is established toflow into the suspension from one side thereof to aid in deflecting thesuspension from the path 4 allel front and rear walls, a fiberizerincluding a plurality of coacting rotors extending into the chamber froma portion of said rear wall, a trough extending into the chamber abovethe fiberizer for feeding a stream of molten raw material to saidrotors, an air inlet to the chamber above the trough, an opening in saidfront wall a substantial distance below said fiberizer, a foraminousconveyor extending at least partially across the opening in said frontwall, suction means on the side of said conveyor remote from thechamber, an opening in said rear wall generally opposite the opening insaid front wall, and means for varying the flow of air through theopening in said rear wall.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, including shot removal means at the bottomof said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS PowellApr. 30, 1946 Coleman July 24, 1951

